Samantha Storey has joined The Trace as managing editor.
Storey will run our editorial calendar, guiding a steady flow of news and data stories, shorter features, and explainers. She will help shape coverage of many aspects of the gun violence beat, and will manage reporters and editors who are particularly focused on the news.
Storey comes to The Trace with a wealth of experience in reporting and editing, including more than a decade at The New York Times, where she worked on the metro, national, and sports desks.
Tali Woodward, The Trace’s editor in chief, said: “We’re thrilled to have Samantha joining our small but mighty team. She thinks about stories and about mentoring in creative ways, and always with an eye on impact.”
While at The Times, Storey served as the lead audio reporter on “An Imam In America,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. She also spent more than five years as a senior enterprise editor at HuffPost, where she oversaw reporting on social inequality, and led investigations into hate crimes, domestic violence, voting rights, school policing, and sex trafficking. Last year, she worked as an executive producer and podcast host at Bloomberg, where she won a Gerald Loeb Award in audio for “In Trust” and received a Webby award nomination for “Bedrock, USA.” Storey most recently served as the executive producer for nonfiction at the podcast production company At Will Media.
“I’ve been following The Trace’s work for years, and I’m so proud to join this incredibly talented and dedicated team,” Storey said. “I can’t think of a more pressing issue than gun violence in America. There’s so much work to be done, and I’m eager to help my colleagues make it happen.”
Storey started her new role this week and will split her time between working remotely and in our Brooklyn office.
Last month, former Trace staff writer Brian Freskos rejoined the organization in the role of news editor. Close readers of The Trace will recall that Freskos was the lead reporter on some of our most impactful work, including Missing Pieces and the inspection reports project. Freskos began working at The Trace as an investigative fellow in 2016, became a reporter soon after, and was promoted to staff writer because of his consistent high-quality work and his commitment to groundbreaking original reporting. Before he left in March 2022, to work for a nonprofit monitoring international arms trafficking, Freskos had been training as an editor.
“Losing a staff member like Brian is never fun,” said Woodward. “But having him return in an editing role has been exciting for the whole team.”
“I am thrilled to be back at The Trace working with such skilled and passionate colleagues,” Freskos said. “Our reporting on gun violence in America has never been more crucial, and I am ready to help ensure that our coverage not only informs the public with accuracy and integrity, but also fosters meaningful conversations around this issue.”
Freskos continues to live and work in Chicago and will report to Storey.
